Social

As we arrived this morning at the stadium where the World SocialForum is taking place, the traffic had come to a standstill. Which ispretty normal for Nairobi. But as we got out of the car to walk thefinal distance it became clear that this was no ordinary gridlock.…

With a renewed vigour and fresh intensity, the World Social Forumfeels like it’s beginning to hit its stride. Thanks to the Kenyanactivists’ inspiring agitation, there is a feeling of genuinepossibility in the air. WSF Organizers have made good on some of theirassurances that the Forum will be a more open space and those unable topay will be allowed in.…

Anti-water privatization activists from all over Africa met today atthe World Social Forum to launch a new African Water Network aimed atstrengthening co-operation and co-ordinating efforts to ‘oppose waterprivatization in all its forms’; to work for a participatory model ofpublic control over water; and to assert that water is a fundamentalhuman right. Virginia Setshedi from the South African Coalition AgainstWater Privatization explained the significance of the event: ‘Today wecelebrate…

As I write this, a huge, beautiful old sycamore tree is beingunceremoniously chain-sawed to the ground in Oxford city centre. Why?To make way for a monstrous gleaming new shopping centre so that,according to the Council, 'our retail and city centre economy can beviable into the future.'.…

For me, one of the real achievements of this WSF has been thewonderful turnout of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex(LGBTI) activists here (particularly from Africa). The Q-Spot, a venuesetup by GALCK (the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya), was one of themost popular hangouts in the stadium. Numerous workshops, trainings,debates, film screenings, exhibits, and poetry readings were wellattended and there was a real buzz about the place.…

Day 2 of the Forum and the wazungu (white people) are allstarting to turn various shades of pink from sunburns and heatexposure. The drums and singing are a constant thrum in the backgroundas thousands move from workshop to workshop or just wander aroundsluggishly browsing the various stalls. .…

Of the few languages I’ve had the privilege to learn (badly) in my life, Kiswahili(Swahili) is my favourite. It’s wonderful expressionism and rich use ofproverbs is a window into a different way of looking at life andcommunicating with one another. .…

I recently submitted this post on the Guardian's Comment is Freesection which has started a little bit of a discussion. Please join inand contribute your own thoughts about these issues. It's a goodopportunity to get some kind of debate going about the Social Forumprocess, reflections, criticisms, anecdotes, etc.…

Despite the underwhelming emphasison climate change at the World Social Forum, there were a fewinteresting sessions and issues worth noting, many of which might nothave been labeled as strictly ‘climate change’ sessions.One in particular was a workshop on biofuels, organized by the Global Forest Coalition.…

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